Breakout
by feelinglucky1502
Summary: Life was completely normal, until a bacterium began to spread. People turned into a zombie like creature-and Artemis has to defend herself. She finds her Hunters of Artemis, and they join with another group lead by Perseus Jackson, one of Camp Half-Blood's finest. Together they search for survivors and the one thing that is the world's last hope: a cure.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It began on a Wednesday. That's all I remember.

My Mom and Dad stood outside and in the backyard, cheery grins on their faces. The winter had ended abruptly, allowing the neighbors to flock outside in wonder of the beautiful weather. The sky shined a bright blue, big puffy clouds adding to the beauty. The sun shined radiantly and graced their faces. I looked out of the window towards them, a small smile on my face.

I propped my face up with my palm, my elbow on the kitchen counter. Mom laughed and the sound carried even through the heavy duty glass. My Dad looked at her with bright blue eyes, his hand on the small of her back. They looked like the perfect couple, and my heart ached to see them. Somewhere, in the farthest corner of my mind, I desired something like that.

I was notorious in my high school for my dislike for boys. Some even thought of me as lesbian, but I just shook him off. Once I graduated, I realized that not all boys were bad, and that I had to grow up from that. I needed to cooperate with them in order to live my life, and be professional.

Mom placed a hand on Dad's upper arm and kissed him. I scrunched up my face and made a gagging noise. I looked away swiftly from the public display of affection. I turned and pulled the refrigerator and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. Pouring some water into the cup, I looked outside again.

Mom turned on the radio, and Dad grabbed her hand. They waltzed across the lawn, grinning at each other like there was no one else in the world. I was content with watching them, occasionally sipping my water.

And then it happened.

They broke apart so suddenly I thought they were going to fall flat on the ground. Dad narrowed his eyes to the radio and turned up the dial. My Mom's eyes were wide; scared; afraid.

A rock sat in my stomach and bile rose in my stomach, the fear grabbing me, taking hold of me. I ran to the glass door and shoved it open. By then, Mom was clutching Dad for dear life, her expression distraught, her frail body shaking visibly. Dad held her, his eyes wide just like hers.

I burst into the backyard, and I heard it. The message blared from the radio, and I could hear it from other houses, whether it was from phones, televisions, and radios just like ours. "THIS IS A NATIONAL EMERGENCY. REPEAT, A NATIONAL EMERGENCY. ALL CIVILIANS ARE STRONGLY URGED TO REMAIN INDOORS. LOCK ALL DOORS. STAY IN SECLUDED AREAS. RUN. THIS IS A NATIONAL EMERGENCY. ALL CIVILIANS—"

"What—what's going on?" I asked my Dad, my own limbs trembling. Knees trembling, I took slow steps towards them. "What do we do? What's going on?"

"We're—we're going to die," Mom cried, tears running down her face, every sob wracking her back and forth. Dad wrapped himself around her, his large hand covering the side of her head. "I—Zeus—I'm scared." Her words were heartbreaking, the woes of a woman who knew her life would be taken right from her.

"Daddy," I said, desperate. I only ever called him that when I was desperate. " _What is going on_?!"

Right then, police sirens and brakes screeching and gunshots assaulted my eardrums. People screamed and yelled and I could see smoke off in the distance. Dad looked at me, eyes wild with terror. "There's something wrong. A bacterium that eats away at the brain. It—it messes with your blood, tears at your skin, and you attack everything in your path. You become a…a zombie."

 _Zombie_.

I had always thought of it as a dumb word, a word that made me laugh when anyone talked about them in horror movies. They always looked dumb, and very obviously they had on make-up. I wanted to shake my head, laugh, and tell them it made no sense. But it did.

The illness; it had begun in Brazil, and we doubled our protection on the borders, closed all flights and closed harbors. But these "undead," or as I will call them, "Rotters," were far more aggressive than we anticipated and they crossed the Mexican border with ease. Texas was affected first, then New Mexico, and so on. We lived in New York; we had built even taller walls, assured by the government it would hold, gathered our supplies, and waited out the outbreak. But…they had gotten through. It had been four months. We continued life as normal. We thought it would _hold_.

Life was so normal, so _so_ normal until this.

New York was prepared, but only barely. We locked the doors and ran to the basement. It was dark, but Dad turned on the light hastily, bathing the room in a faint light. I grabbed my bow and quiver off of my shelf and slung the bow across my back. I was so thankful that I was strong and could pull about fifty-five pounds, enough to hurt someone fatally. But just to make sure I strapped a pistol and a knife to my belt. Mom stood deathly still, and Dad encouraged her to pick up a weapon. "Leto," he said, his voice trembling, "Please…"

Mom grabbed a handgun and brought it to her head.

My heart stopped as I screamed and cried for her to put it down. Dad jumped for her, but it was too late. "If I'm going to die," she whispered softly, "I want to die as myself, I want to die with no intent to hurt anyone."

And then, the most horrible, terrible, loud noise banged. I screamed, a shrill, piercing noise that joined with the pained wails of others. Mom looked the same, except there was a large hole on her head, surrounded by blood. I collapsed down next to her, my breathing still shallow. I didn't want to breathe, I wanted be with her, so I stopped. But then instinct takes over and you're forced to take a breath. I am still breathing. Mom, I am still breathing.

Dad stared at her in disbelief. Chaos still went on outside.

"Just one moment," I begged, "One moment of silence for my mother."

The world did not oblige, and the sounds only intensified. Dad kneeled beside his wife, the same one who he had held so tight earlier that day, and cried. His tears were silent, and came down his face in singular streaks, but I knew that he was holding himself back. A high pitched scream sounded from the house beside ours, and I knew it was only a matter of time. "Dad," I said sternly, trying not to show any weakness, tried desperately to hide the fact that I was a teenage girl who saw her own mother kill herself, "We have to get ready and run. They will catch us."

I nocked an arrow on my bow and I heard them pounding on the door. My heart beat rapidly, and I grabbed my Dad by the arm and ran to the back door in order to escape the Rotters. Run, my mind thought, run run run run.

We rushed to the back door and I swung it open, praying that it would be clear. And then I saw my first Rotter.

It was a woman, she was newly turned, her skin pale, moans and groans of pain escaped from her throat. Hair was falling out, hair that was once full and a beautiful color of black. I remembered her. Her name was Silena Beauregard, and she went to my high school. She was the popular girl, beautiful and perfect in every way. She was kind too. But there she stood, her once gorgeous topaz eyes a misty grey. I could see her every vein, and it was disgusting. She moaned and groaned and once she saw me, staring in incredulity, she pounced.

A yell, a flash of silver, and my throwing needle sprouted from her chest. Dad placed a hand on my shoulder as tears threatened to fall. I shook it away, I didn't have the luxury of crying. I turned around as I sprinted with Dad, the houses were on fire, hordes of the Rotters moaned and groaned. And what was worse was that they looked like humans; but their flesh was falling off and their hair left behind a sickening trail. They bled out, and I wondered how in the hell they were still able to _move_.

We jumped into a car, luckily it wasn't locked, and I sped away. The Rotters took attention to us, the car was loud, and started to make their way to us. "Come on," I muttered to myself, and ignoring the speed limit, I went down to the intersection; but it was far from abandoned. Cars were everywhere, some on the sidewalk, and honking like crazy. "F***," I cursed, and backed out. I hit a Rotter along the way, and went back towards the throng of the monsters. They jumped onto the car, looking at me with those misty grey eyes and thoughtlessly attacked the car. I slammed on the gas pedal and surged forward, we were so fast that we meandered on the road uncontrollably.

Dad opened the window and shot at them, the sound so loud and shot so powerful I could feel it reverberating through me, like it was punching me. Rotters fell left and right, but they were coming too fast. I took a daring move—no, a stupid move—and curved into a backyard and through the white picket fence. There was this grassy hill: a really steep slope, I ran up and down it every day for my daily exercise, and gunned up it. "There," I said aloud to Dad, "It'll take them a while to get up that."

It didn't.

I really don't get how a bacterium that literally eats away at your brain somehow gives you freaking super speed. I looked behind me and saw them racing after us, cursing under my breath, we swerved to the right. "Dad," I said with my teeth clenched, feeling my domineering nature coming out, "Shoot them. I'll try to get them off of our trail."

And it was horrible that I had to say such a thing. These people all had a future ahead of them, they had children, or were children to probably dead parents, and what was worse was that they had turned on all of those that they had loved. I felt sad that they could not have a proper burial, and unlike my mother, they would not die as themselves.

My mother.

I tried not to think of her as I tightened my hold on the steering wheel and I blinked tears out of my eyes. I attempted to keep my eyes on the road, but tears kept blurring my vision, and Dad's shooting continued to attack my ears painfully.

And this was happening so fast. So fast, too fast, and all I wanted was just my life. I realized then that I would never hate anything as much as I hated that illness.

This would be a never ending chase, I realized, and we'll run out of gas sometime if not soon. I wracked through my mind about where we could go, somewhere secluded. And then it hit me.

I remembered that it was a training camp, a training camp for survivors, and the kids there were like mini soldiers. They knew what to do in times of crisis like this. I smiled when I remembered the people that I made friends with, and I pushed on the gas pedal, hard. We needed to get to Long Island, and fast. All I could do was hope that they were still holding their own.

"Dad," I said before speeding unbelievably fast, "We are going to my old camp."


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2. File 1.

Camp Half-Blood was, unsurprisingly, strangely named, and was a strangely run and managed summer camp.

It was beyond strange, and it was beyond special.

I was sent there when I was only ten; because both of my parents went there when they were young. Camp Half-Blood was the most prestigious boot camp, and it was meant for the top children in the United States of America.

When I first arrived, we took an intelligence test and a physical test to decide which cabin we would be placed in. Each cabin had their own trait that was encouraged and focused upon, each contending to every individual talent that a child held. They were categorized by numbers. There were the first three cabins; most commonly called the Big Three, and only the best of the best would be housed there. I wasn't in one of the Big Three like my father was. I wasn't quite good enough physically for that, and I certainly wasn't smart enough for Cabin Six, which was about as prestigious and impressive to be a part of as being as part of one of the Big Three.

The next thing that was special only to Camp Half-Blood was rankings. The rankings went as follows: Olympians, Titans, God (refers to gods that are not Olympians), and Demi-God. Almost everyone would be a demi-god, but many strived just to be a god. The top three rankings were the best of them all, and would have special privileges and were almost immune to all of the rules. The Olympians were only awarded to two out of hundreds of gods, titans, and demi-gods every generation. Only two.

I am an Olympian.

My dad was proud of me, and my brother. My brother was rewarded with the ultimate honor that ran in our family, with the exception of my titan mother Leto, and he decided to stay at camp. I prayed that he was okay. If anyone had survived this attack, it was Camp Half-Blood, with its super soldiers and cutting edge technology. I hadn't realized how upset I was that Apollo had left until then; and I felt my hands grip the wheel even tighter. My first task, though, was not my nostalgia, but rather to reach the bridge to cross over to Long Island. I _needed_ to reach that island, and even if I had to sprint across that bridge on foot, I would make it across.

"Dad," I said, "We need to get to the bridge, or…" I trailed off, feeling nervous. We'd probably have to get out, undoubtedly. There would probably be too many abandoned cars in the way for us to drive across. I felt a wave of fear at the realization that there would be Rotters all the way up and down the bridge. How the hell could we get across?

"Prepare yourself," Zeus said, clutching his rifle. I nodded and slammed my foot on the gas pedal. I weaved through all of the stopped cars, they were all empty. Many of them had bashed in windows and crumpled, dented doors. Some were beeping loudly and others were sounding an annoying siren. I knew the way to the bridge, but it was harder to navigate with all of the cars around. "Damn it," I cursed through gritted teeth.

The way to the bridge from Manhattan was _completely_ blocked with cars and debris. "Damn it!" I yelled, and hit the steering wheel in anger. Zeus get out of the car, and I followed suit.

The outside was an absolute disaster. Car alarms were going off, the air smelled like smoke, and people were still screaming. I squeezed my eyes shut. I hated hearing them scream, desperate to _live_. I looked around me, scanning the area. I was confused to see that there wasn't anyone nearby. All I could see was smoke, cars, and buildings. No one was there. I started sprinting down the street, climbing atop cars that were completely blocking the way. Zeus followed suit, not at all slowed down by age. When he was in Camp Half-Blood, he was the top camper. He still was, and no one had ever broken any of his records.

I then saw another Rotter, moaning and groaning. It saw me, and began to sprint at me. I heard a gunshot, and it fell down. I drew my bow, and searched the area for any more. For a few minutes all we could hear was our labored breaths. After I confirmed there were no more, we kept moving. I could see the bridge from where I was, but it appeared hazy from all of the smoke.

I raced past car after car, thinking about how this had all started. I wondered if the whole world had been effected, or if it was just our hemisphere. I doubted it was just our hemisphere, though I didn't know why. I thought about what I was going to actually do when we reached Camp. Just hiding out there was unsustainable, even with the strawberry fields they used for profits. Supplies would eventually run out.

I hoped the kids in Cabin Six had figured all of it out, or at least had started working on a solution. If anyone could figure any of this mess out, it'd be them. The least intelligent member of Cabin Six was no doubt at least twenty IQ points ahead of the smartest member of the CDC. Or maybe…

I shook my head, refusing to believe where my train of thought might've gone. Zeus was starting to gain ground on me and I shook my head before surging forward. I drew my bow and shot a Rotter coming dangerously close to us. It fell down with a sickening _thump_ , and I heard a gunshot not too far behind me. I knew it was Zeus making sure it was dead. I reached behind me and grabbed another arrow, and then breathed. I nocked the arrow. _Breathe_. I aimed. I felt tears gather in my eyes when I saw the Rotter I was going to shoot was a small girl no older than five. I felt my maternal instincts take over. I wanted to comfort her, I wanted to cry for her. Such an innocent girl…

She growled ferociously and tackled me. I had taken too long.

I struggled with the little girl as we tumbled across the ground. It didn't help that I was still crying; my thoughts were crowded with thoughts of sympathy, confusion, and survival instinct. The emotions fought for supremacy. I yelled in pain as she scratched my cheek, and I struggled to keep her face as far away from me as possible. She couldn't bite me. Or it'd all be over. The little girl made a crowing sound and lurched forward. I swiped for my knife from my pocket and cried out as I threw it at her. In a last attempt to save herself she used all of her strength, scratching a long wound onto my ribs.

A guttural cry emerged from the girl's throat and she tumbled off of me, completely lifeless.

I screamed in agony, the tears falling down my cheeks without any discretion. I forgot the pain that was throbbing on my midsection. "I'm sorry," I whispered to her, "I'm so, so _sorry_." I cradled her in my arms, rocking her back and forth. What if this girl's mother was alive? I wish I'd known her name. I was sobbing still when I felt a hard hand fall on my back. I flinched, thinking it was another Rotter for a split second. "Artemis," Zeus said. I looked up at him. His eyes were so clear, and were so blue. He nodded to me and I got up, placing the girl onto the street.

I rubbed my eyes, and started running again.

File 2

It was almost nighttime by the time we reached the bridge. We used the last remaining daylight to find it; since the bridge usually illuminated the dark nights, but after the Rotter invasion, it was pitch black. We drew our weapons, prepared to shoot on sight. No doubt there'd be a huge concentration of Rotters at the bridge.

"Good lord," I said, when I saw what was going on at the bridge's entrance. There were "demi-gods" [I will refer to the rank of demi-gods as demi-gods. They're not actually demi-gods.] all up and down the bridge, talking in monotone voices into their walkie-talkies. They circled in high concentrations at the bridge's entrance. Each one had a weapon particular to their tastes, some had rifles strapped to their backs, some had bows. Others carried knives in their belt, while others still carried handguns. They looked deadly.

I cupped my hands around my mouth. "Code 5!" I yelled on the top of my lungs. One of the first things you learned in camp were the codes. There were well over a hundred. A code 5 meant—

"Percy, we have someone over here with a Code 5. We need medical assistance right away," a girl brought a walkie-talkie to her mouth. "Requesting Will Solace, please."

"Right. He'll be out there in five minutes. Make sure to give them emergency aid if necessary," a grainy male voice replied through the small radio speaker.

The girl nodded and started sprinting towards me. It was then I started making out details about her. She had long dark brown hair and eyes, and a slender frame. She was wearing a thick dark gray coat over her thin body, and dark green cargo pants. She placed the walkie-talkie into her pant pocket. She saw my gray tank top was soaked with blood around my middle. I was bent over, supporting myself with an elbow. The girl pointed a gun at me. "Who are you?" She took a step forward. She then gestured to my wound. "Rotter bite?"

I shook my head, closing my eyes. The wound was throbbing rhythmically, and getting worse with each beat, and with each second. "No. She scratched me. It's—"

The girl nodded and instructed me to lift up my shirt. The movement was unexpectedly painful. I hissed at the stab of pain and looked down at my wound. My breath began to quicken when I saw how much it had worsened, and the sharp breaths hurt with every inhale. "My name is Zoë," the girl said, taking a small bottle of alcohol out of her pocket. I stared at it with apprehension.

"Artemis," I said, feeling my knees go weak. Zeus looked at me with worried eyes. Zoe instructed me to sit down, and I did. She opened her bottle of alcohol. Everything after that seemed to be in slow motion. She tilted the bottle, and the liquid fell liberally on the gash.

I screamed in blind pain.

I felt tears falling down my face, but I was far too focused on my abdomen to care about that. It felt like I was on _fire_. I thrashed about, wailing as white hot agony engulfed my whole body. I heard voices, but it just hurt.

"Some of the disease—"

"The alcohol must've—"

"She's lucky—"

I hissed when I felt cold, calloused fingers touch my cheek. Someone was hushing me. "A-AH!" I cried out when I felt something cold on my burning flesh. The conflicting sensations overloaded my already overworked nerves.

"Will, I need some painkillers, right now."

"Yes, Percy."

Percy was the one on the walkie-talkie, wasn't he? I heard Zoë's voice. "She'll live, Jackson."

"Looks like it'll scar," Percy answered back. I felt something cold sliver down my abdomen. "She's a former camper?"

"She _did_ call a Code 5. She clearly knew what she was talking about. 'Said her name's Artemis."

"Yes, I know her. She's a current Olympian, like her brother. Go get him, please." I reasoned that Percy knew my name because every demi-god planning to become a titan or a god had to know all of the Olympians. I didn't remember a Percy when I was still at Camp, though.

"I will."

I heard someone running away and groaned. The burning was still present but whatever the cold thing was, it was helping. "What happened to her?"

"A zombie attacked her," Zeus answered him, "She tackled her to the ground and starting scratching her. The zombie didn't bite."

"An Olympian wouldn't allow themselves to get tackled by one of those things," Percy remarked.

"The zombie was only a child," Zeus defended me.

Percy chose to never comment on Zeus's defense. "She'll survive," his voice was firm, "She'll survive."

"Of course she will," Zeus replied harshly, "It was only a flesh wound."

"Zeus, correct? I've learned about you. Your daughter," I heard a shuffling of feet, and the cold was on me again. It felt like water, but a little thicker. "Was partially effected by the bacteria, we believe. The Rotter scratched her, giving her a more mild form of the bacteria as opposed to if the Rotter bit her. The bacteria was eating at her flesh, Zeus, and if we hadn't gotten to her in time, she probably would've become one of them. Do you think that normal wounds, when applied with alcohol, would leaving her squirming and thrashing around on the ground and screaming bloody murder?"

I groaned, not willing to go unnoticed anymore. There was more feet shuffling, coming close to me. Strong arms lifted me from where I was laying down, and brought me close to a warm chest. My carrier smelled of pine trees and the ocean. His warmth seemed to envelope me and comforted my taut and stressed nerves. "What Cabin is she?" a deep voice was close to my ear, and I could feel a vibration in his chest that accompanied every word.

"I can carry her."

"No," my carrier replied sharply, and I felt him take a sharp breath. "I'm going to heal her myself."

"You're no Cabin 7 child."

"Haven't you already seen what I can do? I can heal better than any Cabin 7 member can."

"I—she's in Cabin 8."

"She should be okay in the morning," my carrier pivoted on his foot and turned around completely. I guessed his back was facing Zeus.

"What Cabin are you in, boy?"

"Cabin Three."

Cabin Three? He was in one of the big three cabins?

"Percy!" It was Will, I guessed. He was running towards him with something that rattled loudly with each step. "I have the painkillers you asked for."

"Thanks," Percy said, and took the bottle. My legs were left unsupported for the shortest second, but it left my abdomen in pain. My face screwed up from it and I groaned. "Sorry," Percy whispered, held me again, and started to walk. Every slight jolt made me whine in pain, and each time Percy held me tighter and whispered to me, telling me where we were.

The first time he said, "The Half-Blood Hill."

The worst time, when Percy had to jump from what I guessed was a high rock, jostled my whole body, and made me whimper in the pain. "The Big House," he brought me closer. I finally knew what he was doing.

"Cabin One," Percy proclaimed, and he began a very light, smooth jog. It surprisingly didn't hurt at all.

"We'll stop at my Cabin and wait for your brother there, okay?"

"Ugh," was all I could muster.

Percy laughed, his chest bumping against me lightly. He opened the door to Cabin Three, and walked in. He had to angle himself to make sure I didn't hit the doorframe. He set me down on a soft bed. I heard the rattling and he brought careful fingers to my lips. "Open," he ordered firmly. I obeyed, and he dropped two pills into my mouth. He brought the bottle of pills back into a pocket, and then the cold was on my wound. The throbbing was slowly numbing away, with whatever he was doing.

"What," I croaked, and coughed as if that would fix the hoarseness in my throat, "Wh-What is that?"

"What is what?"

"It's not water, is it?"

"It is," Percy said. "I just…did something to it."

"Will the pain ever go away?"

"Eventually," he replied shortly.

"It hurts," I moaned.

"I know," Percy said softly, "I'm trying."

His hands were closer then, hovering close over my skin, and the water became thicker and colder, caressing my wounds. I moaned and arched my back upwards, wanting to come closer to the source of my relief subconsciously.

"Better?"

"Yes," my voice trembled.

The door opened with a _bang_. "You know, someone'd think you guys were having sex if not for what's going on."

I could imagine Percy's fierce scowl even though I'd never seen him. "Shut up, Apollo."

"I'm just saying!"

"Your sister is in _pain_ , and you're joking about—"

"Alright, alright, stop being such a termagant." I could accurately picture Apollo rolling his eyes. Something was set on the floor near me, probably his medical case.

"Look, Apollo's a grown up now. He's using adult words." Percy gasped, feigning shock.

"Shut the fuck up Jackson, I'm focusing."

"Bullshit, you're not even looking her way," Percy remarked, and shifted his weight to a different side. "If you want, I can do your job for you."

"You're _ridiculous_ ," Apollo said, and started rummaging through his things. He approached me. "You can open your eyes now, Artemis."

I slowly opened my eyes for the first time since the alcohol hit my wound. I saw my brother above me. His blonde hair was still neatly gelled even with all that's going on. I wanted to roll my eyes. Of course. His blue eyes were tired, and there were bags under them too. He must've been tired as the head of Cabin 7. Next to him was Percy.

He was _hot_.

As I said earlier, I wasn't into boys. Never once did I _ever_ say a guy was _hot_.

His midnight-raven black hair was tousled. Percy had a strong jaw and high cheekbones. He had a chiseled nose and lips. Percy's eyes were my favorite feature of them all; a soft ocean green with little flecks of gold and dark blue swirling in the irises. He was looking down at me, still scowling, probably from his encounter with my brother. His expression eased when he saw that I was fully awake.

"Alright, let's see that wound," Apollo said, and I whimpered, shying away from him. The sharp sensation of a knife stabbing me with every move was acute, and lifting my shirt again would make it feel like glass shattered on my ribcage. "Did you give her painkillers, Percy?"

"Yeah," Percy said, taking a white bottle of pills out of his pocket. "I can use my ability again."

"Thanks," Apollo nodded, and stepped away from me. What I saw next made my mouth hang open in shock. Percy seemed to manipulate the water that was in a large bowl next to me and, not touching the water, gestured it to my stomach. The water began to glow and I felt it harden a little tiny bit on my skin. Percy bit his lip, and his eyebrows knit together in intense concentration. I exhaled as the pain slowly went away.

"Keep it there," Apollo instructed and pulled out some bandages. He then pulled out another bottle of alcohol.

I looked up at Percy in utter terror, even though I didn't know him, I _begged_ him with my eyes to help me. _Don't let him do this to me._

Percy chewed on his lip a little harder. "Apollo," he said, and the water on my stomach glowed even brighter, the pain was almost gone now. "Is that going to…hurt her?"

"It shouldn't hurt as much. Zoë had the cheap stuff. Not only that, but she should have less bacteria and germs all around that area," Apollo answered, unscrewing the bottle's lid. I smelled the alcohol's fumes that burned my nostrils. "Percy, hold her down."

"What?!" I practically shrieked. "If it isn't going to hurt, why is he keeping me down?!"

Apollo shushed me and took out a few cotton balls. "You might experience pressure pain. I'm not just going to carelessly pour this all over your abdomen. You'd probably move a lot without Perce here."

Percy looked down at me with such an intense stare I had to blush and look away. He gently wrapped his hands around my wrists and pinned them down. When I turned back to where he was, my breath caught when I realized how close he was to me. Our chests were about two inches apart. I was sure he didn't need to be so _close_. My own silver eyes met his ocean green ones. Percy soon had a lopsided smirk on his face.

" _Why_ are you guys acting like I'm _not_ seeing this?" Apollo asked, groaning in annoyance and pouring the alcohol onto the cotton ball with skilled hands. "Aren't you and Annabeth a thing?"

"We _were_ ," Percy hissed, and I felt his hold on me tighten a little. I fidgeted to let him know it was uncomfortable, and he eased his hold. "Sorry," he mumbled. I nodded, and lifted my limp hand to hold his wrist. He gave me a confused look, and my eyes shot down to where Apollo was ready with a cotton ball to show him my reason. Percy nodded and slipped one of his hands into mine. I knew that it'd been less than an hour since I'd met him but I trusted him and had it been someone else in his position I would've done the same thing anyway. His large, warm, and calloused hand engulfed my own.

I felt the cotton swab fall onto my flesh and I grit my teeth. Apollo began to move it around and it felt like a dull, but prominent pain. It felt like someone had placed a one-hundred pound weight on my stomach, but only where the cotton ball touched. I squeezed Percy's hand hard as Apollo got into the deepest part of the gash. It stung, but considerably less than when Zoë had done it. It just hurt where he used the swab. "Almost done, sis," Apollo announced, and I heard him rummage around in his case. "Here we are," he said, and cut some bandages and gauze.

He placed some antibacterial cream on the skin surrounding the gash and then instructed Percy to lift me up. He nodded and placed a hand under my neck and gently lifted me up. Apollo muttered his apologies as my breathing became labored. He bandaged me, which was thankfully pretty fast. Apollo gave me some sleeping pills and asked Percy to leave.

He obliged, and left me and my brother alone.

"Get some rest, sis. You've had a really long day, I'd imagine."

"Why is Percy able to do…that…?" I thought about how he was able to control the water without actually coming in contact with it.

"Percy's special. He hasn't told anyone why he's able to do that, he just can and no one questions it. He's a great asset to the medical team," Apollo answered, packing up his things.

"Mom's dead."

Apollo nodded. "I know. I passed by dad on the way here. He told me what happened. I'm sorry, Artemis."

"I just…want to sleep," I said, even though the truth was, I didn't want that day to end, despite all of the horrible things that had happened.

Because it was still a day I had spent with my mother.

 **Author's Note: I thought I'd given up on this, but I realized it's potential, so I thought why not. This one's going to be pretty long, I anticipate.**

 **I'll warn you right away that while this is hardcore Pertemis, there will be periods when they won't see each other.** _ **But**_ **! The Pertemis will occur in ways you won't expect, even when they aren't together ;). After that first initial period they'll be together for the rest of the story.**

 **OOC Artemis! Then again, she's OOC in every Pertemis story.**

 **I hope that Percy and Apollo were aright though.**

 **ALSO! IMPORTANT! We're in the beginning of the story, so** _ **your vote counts**_ **cos not that many review! So review your answer!**

 **-Should I make Artemis tsundere (at first hostile and then warms up later) like she is in all of the other stories, or should I make her a little more open to Percy? I could do either one, depending on what you want. I think the first one is overused but it's more in character for Artemis. The second might be a little more fresh but it's less traditional to who she is. But the second and first one have the same amount of potential Pertemis so it's all up to you.**

 **Signing out.**


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3. File 1.

 _ **WARNING: AUTOCORRECT WENT A LITTLE CRAZY HERE, SO THERE MAY BE SOME PHRASES THAT DON'T MAKE ANY SENSE.**_

"Good God, _why_ are you so obsessed with my sister?"

"Do you _want_ me to sew your lips shut?"

"Not before I sew yours."

"That doesn't even make any _sense_."

"Yes it does."

"Your comeback was as sensible as the director of The Phantom Menace."

"George Lucas is a Goddamn cinema _god_."

"Not when he made that movie."

"Everything that George Lucas touches or makes is golden."

"Shut up, you two," a purely feminine voice interrupted.

"Annabeth," Percy said curtly.

"Perseus," Annabeth replied, her voice even more curt than his. I opened my eyes then promptly squeezed them shut when light flooded my vision. My whole body felt sore, and every movement ached. My wounds felt like a mixture between a dull and stinging pain together. My mouth tasted stale.

"Why are you here?"

"I said I wanted a break, not your hostility."

"That's not what I—"

"I came to see the great Phoebus Artemis. When I studied her she was quite a legend. But now, in a real life stressful situation, here she is, lying on bed," Annabeth said cynically.

I fisted my blankets in my hand and chewed on my lip to hold myself back from insulting her right back. "You would be too," Percy said softly, "She didn't want to fight a little kid. No one would want to do that."

"Olympians are supposed to be ruthless, aren't they?"

"Um, _hello_?!" Apollo said, giving Percy no chance to reply to Annabeth's question. "I'm an Olympian! Why are you talking about them like I'm not a part of them?!"

"You are?" Annabeth inquired, sounding quite bored.

"Yes!" Apollo was practically fuming then, his fingers pinching into his palms. "I am!"

"Hm." Annabeth ignored his outburst and approached me. "Hello. My name is Annabeth Chase, rank Goddess."

"My name is Artemis Phoebus, rank Olympian," I said dryly, giving her an equally dry smile to accompany it. I remembered seeing her in camp every once in a while, she'd been there since she was seven years old. She was in Cabin 6, and was one of the smartest ones there at the tender age of twelve. It was only natural she'd be a goddess at 14. But I was a goddess at twelve. I was an Olympian along with my brother at the record age of 15. We definitely earned it and deserved it, however.

There was a slight flare in Annabeth's gray eyes. They were a lot like mine, but hers had no spark in them. Rather, they were clouded by an emotion of some sort, though I was not in the mood, or had the care to analyze which one. "You're still a demigod, aren't you, Percy?" She asked him haughtily, still keeping her eyes set on mine. I stared back, not feeling one instinct to shy away.

"I was going to have my promotional ceremony to be an Olympian, Annabeth. But then…this happened," Percy explained, looking exasperated. If you were considered for becoming an Olympian, you were automatically promoted to a god. "So I'm a god, too."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and smirked at me. I scowled at her. She reminded me too much of myself back when I was an idiot. Turning around to meet Percy's gaze, she replied coolly, "That rule is entirely arbitrary."

 _Arbitrary_? _Rules aren't_ ever _arbitrary._

Apollo rolled his eyes. "If you'd kindly leave us alone, _Annabeth_ …"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and obeyed. As a goddess, she was still below Apollo and needed to follow his orders, no matter what. She left, and Apollo and Percy approached me with grim faces.

"Help her up, Percy." Apollo pulled out new bandages from his medical bag. He also brought his rubbing alcohol. I was really starting to _hate_ alcohol.

"Did you tell the Cabin 6 kids that the medical alcohol can kill the bacteria?" Percy asked, lightly reaching behind me and softly lifting me up so as to not hurt me. I breathed in his intoxicating smell, and wondered why Annabeth would ever want a break from _this_.

"Naw," Apollo said, scrunching up his nose, opening up his cap, "No way I'd share that crucial piece of information."

"Apollo."

" _Yes_! I did." He began moving towards me with his cotton ball in hand. I began to back away again like I had the night before. Percy shot me an apologetic look and held my hands like before. Apollo lifted my shirt and brought the cotton ball doused in alcohol onto my skin. I hissed as I squeezed Percy's hand, _hard_. He didn't even flinch.

"Remind me why this is—ugh—" I grunted when he reached a particularly sensitive part, "necessary." I lifted my head to look up at him, moving my torso with me. Apollo shot me a glare.

"Do you _want_ the possibility of becoming a zombie or getting an infection?" Apollo asked, applying the alcohol to a different cotton ball. My head slammed back against my pillow, and I clutched Percy's hands as hard as I could, as if they were an output for the pain the alcohol was inputting. "I'm sorry we have to apply this so much," he said once I whined from a particularly deep part of my scratch getting scrubbed at not so gently with a cotton ball, "But we don't want to give the bacteria to get a chance to evolve. We need to kill it as we can. It's like antibiotics."

"Why can't you just give me that instead?" I gritted out through clenched teeth.

"We don't have antibiotics."

I snorted. "You're kidding." When I saw that he wasn't, my jaw dropped in shock. "Really? You _actually_ don't have antibiotics here."

"Nope," Apollo proclaimed crisply, and went back about his task of torturing me. I narrowed my eyes and completely relaxed my back onto the mattress. When he was done, Percy released my hands, though not before giving my hands a soft squeeze of reassurance. Slightly confused by the show of affection, my eyebrows knitted together and I sat up sharply, making my abs contract as I brought in a harsh inhale. Percy gave me a look of concern and his hands twitched as if he wanted to help but was hesitant. Apollo rolled his eyes and bandaged my torso tightly. It'd only taken about three minutes. He was the quickest at bandaging that I'd ever seen. "No quick movements," he told me, "Even with your arms and legs. Just don't do it."

I nodded, but began to get out of my bed anyway. My limbs screamed at me not to, but soon enough my foot touched the floor and I was dazed. Apollo rolled his eyes and instructed Percy to get me back in bed. I protested profusely, saying that in such a time of crisis I should be out there, actually _doing_ something. Apollo replied back by telling me I could do that once I had fully recovered. I simply glared at him and told him I wanted to get up anyway.

Apollo sighed and gathered his things, saying, "I give up. Do whatever the hell you want," before leaving.

"Huh," Percy said, frowning, "He never let's the patient get out of bed after the first day of recovery."

"I'm his sister," I replied softly. "He's gotten sick of my antics, I assume."

"Maybe," Percy said, looking right at me. His eye contact with me unnerved me. "But he still cares. I think you should stay in bed at least until you feel better and can stand on your own."

"I can stand on my own!" I protested, but fell weakly against his shoulder as I tried to get up from my position on the bed.

"You were saying?" Percy asked me as he lifted me so I could more comfortably lean on his shoulder because I had lost my balance. My senses were on overload as I leaned against him, my hand clutched his strong broad shoulder and my chest rubbed against his own toned chest. I smelled the sea, and my eyes fluttered closed for a few seconds. "Let's get you back on the bed."

I raised my gaze to his, and gasped slightly at his intense gaze. I gulped and looked away, the intensity of his stare too much to handle. "No," I said weakly, my eyes not on his.

"Artemis…"

"Percy…"

Percy groaned and lifted me up, so carefully I wouldn't feel any pain. Still, I was shocked, and squeaked in surprise. One arm was under my ass and the other supported my shoulder blades. He plopped me down onto the bed, my limbs still outstretched. I growled, and used my hands to push me up so that I wouldn't use my abdomen muscles.

He shook his head and tutted, pushing me back on the bed. "You need at least some rest. I promise I'll let you come out for breakfast if you sleep at least until then."

"What time is it?" I asked weakly.

"Five in the morning."

"Fuck," I whispered, "And Annabeth got up anyway?"

Percy just shrugged simply.

I shook my head and fully lowered my weight on my bed. "Alright," I said, scowling, "I'll sleep."

The last thing I saw before I fell asleep was Percy's content smile.

File 2

"Artemis. Get up," I felt someone shaking my shoulder, and groaned unhappily. _Why_? I asked whoever was shaking me in my head. I tugged the blankets tighter around me and smiled at the satisfaction it gave my aching muscles.

The person waking me up chuckled. "I guess you don't need to get up and get breakfast, then. Rest some more."

"Wait…" I grumbled hoarsely, and raised my hand to stop them. I was grabbing at the air, obviously, but I wanted to show the person I was awake and aware. "Percy…" I groaned tiredly.

"Yes, Artemis?" Percy sounded amused as he shuffled towards me.

"Help me up," I demanded of him, and he came closer, placing his arm underneath my shoulders and using his other hand to bring down the covers. He lifted my legs as well, and slowly moved me upright. My feet gently hit the floor. Smiling at him gratefully, I looked around his room. There were five other bunkbeds, all were empty and appeared unused. The whole cabin glowed, the walls were covered in seashells and on the ceiling were decorations of hippocampi, a mythological creature from Ancient Greek mythology. There is a small fountain in the corner with a little statue of a fish as a decoration. He must've used that water on me. "Cabin Three is nice," I said. "Is there anyone else here?"

"No," Percy replied, "I've been the only one here since I was twelve."

"Twelve?" I tilted my head to the side in confusion. He was a camper when I was a camper, then. But I didn't ever remember seeing him. Percy must have seen my confusion and gave me a weak smile. He rubbed the back of his neck and he had a blush on his cheeks.

"Yeah…I um…looked up to you…when I was twelve," his eyes couldn't meet my own. "You were…" His eyes looked down at the ground and he cleared his throat. "Anyway, I've got clothes." Percy turned around and handed me a gray tank top much like the one I had worn the night before and dark green cargo pants. I took them and he left the cabin.

I stared at the closed door, wondering what he meant by "he looked up to me." He was in one of the big three cabins, and I'd only been late in my thirteenth year. I was nothing special as a resident of Cabin 8. I put on my new clothes, grimacing as I peeled my old tank top off, and then fastened my work boots. I opened the door, breathing in the fresh air, and walked out. Every step hurt, because I was sore from all of the running, and my abdomen hurt even at a slow walking pace.

"Are you in pain? Do you need any painkillers?" Percy asked me, a look of concern clearly on his face. I shook my head and rubbed my arms. It was cold.

We made our way to the mess hall, in which we went our separate ways. I walked over to the Cabin 8 table, and saw Percy make his way to his table, all alone. I felt uneasy as I made my way to the table.

"Artemis?" I turned around and saw my old friend Phoebe stand up abruptly and throw her arms around me. She kept her arms tight around me, a smile on her face. I hugged her back fondly. When I looked at the table, the only other person I'd recognized was Zoë, the person who'd saved my life. She was staring at me, not one trace of emotion on her face. I smiled in content as I wrapped my arms around Phoebe, my old friend. [I still remember the first thing she had said to me when we met at Camp as two six year olds, "You look like me! You're not trying to copy me, are you?"]

Phoebe pulled apart from me, a smile still on her face. "This is Artemis, my best friend. She's an Olympian," her eyes alighted with pride, "So I expect you guys to listen to her and follow her every command."

"No," Zoë said, jutting her chin up. She looked quite comical, speaking with a certain lilt to her voice that made her sound snobbish, "I am a Titan. I need not follow the orders of an Olympian."

I narrowed my eyes at her, my posture becoming defensive. I had worked hard to achieve the title of Olympian. I was the youngest Olympian, ever. "Excuse me? Perhaps you do not know your place—"

"Artemis," Phoebe hissed, tugging my arm, "You have been gone long. This has been happening for the past few months. The Titans have rebelled. They find themselves just as or more powerful than the Olympians. Many of them refuse to take orders from any Olympian."

"I see," I said, nodding. I looked back at Zoë, a small smile on my face. "Tomorrow, we spar. I win, you will listen to me and follow every single one of my orders without question. You win, which you won't," Zoë glared at me, her brown eyes cold, "I will follow your command. This is highly unlikely to occur. You will be put in your place." My silver eyes pinned her down.

"Challenge accepted," Zoë said confidently. I felt like laughing. She thought because I was wounded my fighting ability would be affected. She was foolish. The campers at Camp Half-Blood were literally trained to keep fighting, no matter what. I was actually going easy on my body by letting it have a day's rest.

Phoebe introduced me to the rest of the girls in Cabin 8. Cabin 8 used to be a generally small cabin, and in the time I had been gone it'd grown considerably. **(In the books there are very few known hunters so I'm coming up with a lot of them)** Phoebe introduced me to Thalia, a girl with black spiky hair and electric blue eyes. Thalia was actually the cabin's counselor. She was a rank goddess. She gave me a friendly smile and went back to her breakfast. There was Naomi, a girl with jet black hair, Celyn, Jenna, a stout blonde girl with a grin you could see from space, Audrey, an Asian girl with delicate features, Gabriella, and Breanna, a girl with fiery red hair and a bow strapped around her back.

I gave them all a wave and sat down. A young demi-god went up to me and gave me a plate of eggs, sausages, and pancakes. [You could tell she was a demi-god by the color of the beads on her necklace around her neck. The number of beads were years. The color of the beads signified the rank.] I thanked her and dug in. I glanced at Percy, where he was looking longingly at the Cabin 6 table. I followed his gaze and my eyes landed on Annabeth. She was smiling and laughing at a joke one of the Cabin 6 kids had made.

"An Olympian, huh?" Thalia asked, eating some of her eggs. "Were you called back?"

"Huh?" I said. "Called back?"

"Yeah," Thalia said. "They've been calling all of the Olympians back to Camp. Most of them are here already."

I nodded. They probably wanted us to perform a council meeting. I hated those.

"We're just waiting on Ares and Poseidon," Thalia said.

"Figures," I said. Ares rarely showed up at Camp and took forever to get there.

I didn't know what came over me as I asked, "So…is there anyone else in Cabin 3?"

"Hm?" Thalia asked, "Percy's Cabin? No. No one else lives in Cabin 3. No one currently lives in Cabin 1 either. Hera's in Cabin 2. And Percy is Cabin 3's only occupant, at least until Poseidon gets here."

"My father is in Cabin 1," I said.

"Zeus, huh," Thalia said, poking her eggs with her fork. "Thought they called him too. I guess he was here already." [Everyone knew Zeus was my father. It was just a well-known fact.] I nodded. Looking back at Percy, I gave everyone an apologetic smile and excused myself.

"Is there anything I shouldn't do today?" I asked Percy as I approached him with a smile.

"If you _weren't_ a member of Camp Half-Blood, _and_ if you weren't…well, you know, _you_ , I'd tell you not to do anything physical and take another day of rest. But factoring in the two things I just said earlier, it'd be useless for me to tell you to do whatever you want, just take it easy. But…don't do the Lava Wall. Too taxing on the abdominals, you know?" Percy answered me, eyeing his blue scrambled eggs the entire time. When he was done telling me his suggestions, he practically inhaled the whole plate of eggs dyed blue. And then he drank his…was that blue _milk_?

I nodded in consent. What he had said was true. And then I narrowed my eyes suddenly at him and placed my hands on my hips. "What do you mean if I weren't _me_?" I tried not to feel offended by his comment.

"You're stubborn," Percy remarked in reply, his mouth full of toast, that was, of course, dyed blue. It made me wonder why the Camp had food coloring in the first place. We were basically a military academy on steroids—well, a light dose of steroids, anyway. A mistake many people made was underestimating the intensity of the training done at Camp Half-Blood. It required much physical prowess. I gave Percy a small glance as I was walking away back to Cabin 8's table. Those years of training definitely did him well.

Thalia was looking at me strangely, her mouth was twisting in a sharp frown and her lightning blue eyes seemed cold. I sat down. "Are there any changes in the usual camping schedule?"

"There has been some changes," Audrey answered, a frown also on her face, "Ever since the Rotter threat happened, we've been receiving medical training in either the second or fifth hour. And the rest of the time we've been training. We run five miles at seven at our top speed and sometimes have races."

"Have the walls been holding well?" I looked around, and realized for the first time that the number of campers had dramatically reduced from when I was there last.

"A lot of campers are on border patrol. Occasionally we get some waves of zombies and they call all of us over to defend camp. We have a few officers spreading the message that Camp is a safe place for any survivors."

"Do you think they…do you think they've found anyone?" I asked tentatively. "They're at least in pairs, right?" Zeus and I were Olympians and even still I had gotten hurt.

"Yeah," Celyn answered for Audrey, giving me an affirmative nod. "They left in pairs. Some of them went to New Jersey but most of them are on Long Island. Some of them are in Manhattan though."

"I didn't see anyone when I was leaving Manhattan. There were a whole bunch of kids at the bridge. When do you think they'll come back?" The Camp needed as many people as they could get.

"When _you_ deem it fit," Thalia said. My eyes knit together in confusion at her statement. Thalia gave me a smile and explained it again. "Mr. D put you in charge of any survival searches."

"I wasn't even here," I sighed, shaking my head. My index finger and thumb pinched the skin between my eyebrows and the rest of my fingers rested on my forehead. "How typical of that grape addict to do. Give someone important responsibilities without their knowledge or consent." I give all of the members of Cabin 8 a look. "I need to have my own group to find survivors. Small groups in New York will be fine, but I need to have a group that will move throughout the country and look. I'll bring it up this Council." I raised an eyebrow. "I believe I will mention you as my companions. Do you think you are up to it?"

The girls all looked to each other, some had smiles on their faces, and some kept a neutral expression. Jenna grinned at me, "Sure! We need a name, something that people will recognize us by."

"Well, obviously," Zoë began haughtily, "the Members of Cabin 8. Simple and easy to memorize."

"That doesn't even have a good ring to it," Thalia said flatly. Zoë shot her a glare.

"The Hunters of Cabin 8!" Jenna said, snapping her fingers.

"Not quite," Audrey said, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

"How about the Hunters of Artemis?" Naomi suggested quietly. My body stiffened at the name. I knew it was the right one.

"Yes!" My eyes lit up. "That's perfect, Naomi, that's a great name."

"She hasn't won the fight yet," Zoë complained, pointing at me. "If I win, it wouldn't be appropriate to have a group named after anyone other than the leader."

"You could just…not go," I shrugged. She growled at me, the brown in her irises sharp.

I got up, pushing myself up with my hands. "I need to speak with someone. Thank you girls." I turned around and walked off, keeping my posture straight. I felt eyes on me, but shrugged it off, assuming it was Zoë. I walked over to the Cabin 1 table where my father sat.

"Dad," I said. He looked up, his eyes tired and sad. They used to look so full of energy. I took in a sharp inhale of breath. "I want to find mom," I continued, "And I want to do something. Give her flowers or…a memorial… _something._ "

"Don't look for her body," Zeus said hoarsely.

I knew I shouldn't, her decomposed body would've had too intense of a smell, but I wanted to know his reason behind what he told me. "Why?"

"She wouldn't want you to see her like that," Zeus said, his eyes lowered down in grief. "But…I don't want you out there. You're my daughter. You need to be out of harm's way."

"I can't be out of harm' way, Dad, I'm an Olympian. I'm supposed to be out there, it's my duty." I gave him a hard gaze, unmoving, stubborn.

"And it's _my_ duty to protect you," Zeus snapped back. He scowled at me. "Who will you go with? By yourself? You need someone to _heal_ you when you're hurt. You need someone to—"

"I'm fine on my own, dad!" I yelled at him. He jumped, and everyone stopper talking and looked at me. I felt one particular stare more than any of the others. When I looked over my shoulder, it was Percy. "Sorry," I mumbled quietly. I placed a hand on my wound, wincing at the gentle contact. "This is proof enough that I am wrong."

"We will talk about this at the Council meeting," Zeus said in a tone that warned me his decision was final. "I will vote against you, I'll let you know. But…if the rest of the Council believes it necessary for you to leave, I cannot stop you."

I nodded curtly and turned around, and walked straight to the Big House. There I saw Mr. D, or Dionysus, as I called him just to piss him off. "Dionysus," I said sternly, my chin raised high, "What did you do? You better not be drunk or I'll kick your intoxicated ass."

Dionysus looked like one of those cartoon characters that had gotten hit in the head—his eyes were droopy and partially closed, all while his mouth hung slightly open. "So what if I," he hiccupped, "So what if I am?"

I rolled my eyes and slapped his arm. "Wake up."

Dionysus jolted and his eyes opened a small bit. "What do you want, _Artemis_ ," He seethed.

"Hmph," I smiled in satisfaction. I leaned all of my weight on my foot and smirked at him. I had taught him well not to call me Abigail or Arnold. [Seriously, those names did _not_ sound like Artemis.] "Tell me why you assigned me a job while I was in Manhattan?"

"You _were_ here," Dionysus bit out from clenched teeth. "You were screaming on the bridge. Percy really needs to learn to shut off the walkie-talkie. Those walkie-talkie work without you pressing the button, you know. Just in case you're in trouble and all. Anyway, I knew it was you, so I sent out a band of kids to look for survivors. I put you in charge of it. Big whoop."

I glared at him, my hands on my hips. I was sure I looked intimidating. "You've got to be kidding me. I don't even know who these kids are, nor can I keep track of them."

"You need to take a shower," Dionysus drawled, "You smell like sweat and blood."

I pulled back my arm, ready to punch him. I felt a light hand on my arm, and turned around in surprise. No one's ever been able to successfully sneak up on me. When I looked at the person the hand belonged to, I saw jet black hair, and green eyes with laughing lines. For half a second I thought it was Percy before I realized that this man was _much_ older. He smiled down at me jovially and lightly brought my hand down. "Now Dionysus, that's certainly _not_ how you treat a lady."

Dionysus snorted. "I beg to differ. I'm about 99 percent sure Abigail here isn't a _lady_ —"

I growled lowly. My whole body was unbearably hot. I jumped at him. "I will beat you into a thousand tiny pieces, boy!"

Strong arms hooked underneath my armpits and the man lifted me up and away from Dionysus. "Let me go, Poseidon!"

"Calm down, Artemis," he said, his voice was soothing, just like Percy's. I wondered why he was so much like him. "It's alright. Dionysus is drunk, what he says right now has no merit. He's saying things he wouldn't usually. He probably doesn't even think this way." I felt myself relax, maybe what he said was true and Dionysus was just randomly spouting things because he was drunk.

"Agh, nah. I would say this any day, and I _certainly_ feel that way—"

I growled, louder that time, "You fucking—"

Poseidon chuckled, clearly finding this amusing, and pulled me tighter to him. "Artemis. Come on. He's not worth your time."

"How'd he become an Olympian anyway?" I saw his face grow red, "He's drank so much wine he's practically a fermented grape at this point."

"I am very talented at everything I try, my dear," Dionysus said slyly, "And I am one hell of a party planner."

"Demeter's a lot better at it," I mumbled under my breath just to anger him.

Dionysus scowled at me. "I had forgotten why I hated you so dearly, Abigail. Now I remember why."

"The feeling is mutual," I replied in a flat tone. Dionysus yawned. "As I'd I'd care how you felt. Does anyone know where Peter Johnson is? I need to speak with him."

"You mean my son, _Perseus Jackson_?" Poseidon raised a patient brow, but there was a storm brewing in his eyes. He wasn't very happy that Dionysus had screwed up his son's name too.

Dionysus waved his hand. "Yes, yes. That's what I said. Peter Johnson."

Poseidon put me down and scowled at Dionysus. He ignored his question. He turned back to me after a moment. "Where's your parents, Artemis?"

"Dad's sitting at his table and Mom…is…," I looked away, my mouth twisted in a frown. "She's…" I didn't want to say it. Because saying it would be accepting the reality.

"It's okay," Poseidon placed a hand on my shoulder, "You don't have to say it. I get it. Leto was a beautiful woman."

"Where's Ares?" I asked him coldly. It sounded more like an accusation of a crime than a question.

"Still in Manhattan, I'm afraid. He's dragging Aphrodite with him."

I shook my head. "I thought Aphrodite was already here."

Poseidon shrugged. "There's twelve of us. It's probably hard to keep track of all of us."

I nodded in agreement. "It's good you're here, Poseidon. I believe we will have a Council meeting tomorrow. Prepare for long hours of boredom, I suppose."

"This won't be very boring," Poseidon promised me with a smile. "I was in a council meeting back when there was the crisis of the Cold War. The meetings get quite heated in that regard."

I thanked him from preventing me from beating Dionysus up and left to train for my fight with Zoë. There was no way I could lose.

I was an Olympian.

 **Author's Note: a little bit of a longer one. I've mostly got this all planned out, and I'm warning you, this will be a long one. I appreciate all the reviews and the support. I appreciate it.** **Just a small heads up on the Olympian meeting, it may not be the most true to their characters. But again, this is Modern AU. Sorry for the OOC Percy. Thought this background story of his might be interesting. It's pretty much guaranteed they'll be a little different.**

 **I'm still trying to get all of the facts straight and all that, so I apologize for any inconsistencies you may encounter.**

 **Again, thanks so much for the support and almost fifty follows! Let's get it up to sixty five! We can do it, guys.**

 **Signing out.**


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4. File 1.

Cold, dark brown eyes stared at me coldly. I smirked smugly down at her, as I was a few inches taller than her. I ran my hands through my hair, which was tied up in a ponytail. We stood our ground, our stances still and stiff. I had determined that I would not be the one to move first, so I taunted her, by loosening my stance and sighing casually. Zoe growled and finally threw a punch at my unguarded face. I brought my arms up and blocked her attempt at my face.

I swept my foot around and hooked her legs with my foot; she fell down to the floor with a _thump_. Everyone surrounding us flinched at the sound, but she was up within a few seconds of falling. She returned with another punch at my face, but I turned my body sideways, dodging her hit. Zoe was quick, and aggressive, I realized, and she had impressive stamina. Not much could beat her. _Except for my superior strength and agility_ , I thought with a grin. She tried another hit, this time at my middle. I was knocked back with so much force, I almost fell. It was the worst place she could hit me, as that was where I was scratched. I felt a dull throb in my entire body and I heard a ringing in my ears.

She smiled victoriously, and moved to punch me yet again. She came at me with impressive speed. I grabbed her fist, pulled her towards me, and kicked her middle. Zoe fell again.

When she got up, she was wrapping her arm around her abdomen protectively, and she was breathing heavily. I took the opportunity to tackle her down again. I took my knife from my pocket and placed it against her neck. "Admit defeat," I said lowly. Zoe glared up at me, and she swallowed before looking away.

"Okay," she said, "Okay. I lose, _Olympian_. You won."

My eyes flashed as I got up, offering her a hand up. She was rushed to Apollo, and I was approached by a rush of campers, all of them asking me how I learned to fight like that. It was a remarkably short fight, I mused, Zoe had a long way to go. I walked away from the fighting arena and headed toward my own cabin, before someone stopped me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Phoebe, giving me a proud smile. "I knew you could do it. You're one of the strongest here, you know. And after this, all the Titans are bound to obey the Olympians."

"I'm not so sure about that," I replied. From what I could see, Titans were very bitter that they weren't Olympians and had to serve under them, despite how powerful and well-trained they were. It was not likely that one fight would stop them from defying Olympian authority. "At least now our name won't be the 'Members of Cabin 8,'" I said, laughing as I remembered Zoe's smug face when she said the name, as if it was genius. Phoebe giggled in reply.

When I reached my Cabin, I saw Percy there, leaning against the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest, giving me a nice view of his toned biceps. I pursed my lips and averted my gaze. He got up from his position on the wall, giving me a broad grin. "You sure showed that girl what you're made of, huh? Apollo asked me to check up on you…you got hit in the stomach from what I could see. Are you feeling alright?"

I shook my head, even when I replied, "I guess I am. I'm just really tired." The pain in my abdomen was slowly growing, it was as if the hit triggered the pain all over again. Soon, it began to grow sharp, and I was clutching my stomach to add pressure, easing the pain a bit.

Percy shook his head, gently grabbing my arm. My eyes slipped closed; he was so warm against my skin. "You don't look alright. Come with me. I'll get you all fixed up."

Percy took me back to Cabin 3, and settled me back on the bed. I laid down, and took off my shirt entirely. Percy began to move the water with only hand gestures, but when he saw me on his bed, he stopped momentarily. "What?" I asked, my tone almost sharp.

"Nothing," he said, "Sorry. Here," Percy gently removed my bandages and the water settled onto my stomach. I moaned softly at the feeling of relief it gave me. Percy looked away and grabbed a box of bandages I assumed Apollo gave him. He removed the water, and I whimpered as some of the pain returned. He wordlessly re-wrapped me with the bandages.

"Thank you," I said softly, and got off the bed. I put my shirt back on, but when I turned around, I saw that Percy had already left. I huffed and left as well, heading towards the Big House where the meeting would be held.

When I entered the Big House, I saw that all of the Olympians were already there. I tried to ignore their stares, as they made me uncomfortable. I did not like to be the center of attention very often.

"Abigail, you've finally decided to grace us with your presence," Dionysus drawled at me mockingly, clearly drunk.

I growled at him, glaring at him with as much malice as possible. "What did I tell you about calling me that? You better get over yourself, before that overgrown _grape_ you call your head bursts," my fists were clenched by my sides, and Poseidon rose from his seat to drag me towards my father. I offered no resistance this time, keeping my scowl on Dionysus. He looked infuriatingly entertained and amused; it made me want to bash his face in.

"Artemis, dear, calm down." Zeus said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I jerked it away from him and sat in a seat next to Hestia. Hestia was my favorite Olympian; she had long, curly black hair, and warm chocolate brown eyes. Hestia was the kindest Olympian in the room, and the wisest. She rarely spoke, but when she did, everyone followed her directions and advice. She placed a light, comforting hand on my shoulder. I smiled at her, and she returned back the gesture warmly. "Never fight down, Artemis. Fight up."

I furrowed my brows in confusion, not quite understanding what she had told me. "Thank you, Hestia," I replied, wanting to be polite, even if I didn't quite understand what she was saying. Her smile widened, causing the lines around her eyes to crinkle.

"Excellent, everyone is here," Zeus said his voice loud and powerful in the large room. "Thank you everyone for making it. We all know the threat that's reached our front door step. We all understand its threat to humanity. The government has reached out to us, they want us to look for survivors, and create somewhat of a stronghold here. There are multiple military shelters people can go to, the government has informed us, but they want our scouts to search for anyone who might be lost and direct them to the nearest shelter, where they can be safe."

Everyone nodded, taking in the information.

Zeus cleared his throat. "I also believe that we need to contact Camp Jupiter; We need to join forces, right away. I want to send someone to work with them, and we can share our research regarding the infection. Apollo learned something quite groundbreaking, yes?"

Apollo nodded, and spoke up, "It's like any other bacteria, but it's very fast acting. It can be killed with rubbing alcohol, and likely some antibiotics. However, we don't have any way to heal a bite unless it is treated with the rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide right away. Scratches are slow to reach the blood vessels, so it has time to be treated."

Zeus nodded at my brother and gave the council a grim expression. "Thank you, Apollo."

I leaned on the edge of my seat and stood. "I would like to request that I lead the group on the search for survivors. Dionysus did put me in charge of that after all, and I have a group ready to come with me." I kept my stare on Zeus.

It was silver against blue.

"No," Zeus said after a tense moment of silence.

"While I respect my father, I believe that this is a matter we vote on, yes?" I said, keeping my cold gaze on my father.

Zeus was the first to look away. "All in favor of Artemis as the leader of the survival searches?"

Everyone raised their hand except for Apollo. I groaned inwardly, as I didn't want to seem impolite. _Really, Apollo_?

Luckily, Hestia came to my rescue. She stood, and suddenly, the room felt completely silent. Everyone's eyes were on her. "Artemis is a very capable young woman. She is strong and well versed, she is intelligent and a born leader. I believe there is no better candidate for searching for survivors. Artemis is very independent and probably one of the few who can handle being away from the safety of the camp. I suggest that once the last group we sent out returns, we send her and her survival group." Everyone knew then that I'd won. Hestia's suggestions were never really taken as suggestions; they were taken as orders.

Zeus sighed heavily as he took the votes again. "All in favor of my _daughter_ Artemis as the leader of the survival searches?"

This time, there was no hesitation as everyone raised their hands. My stare-off with Zeus had ended and there was a victorious smirk on my face. I couldn't help it. Zeus caught my expression and he glared at me, clearly not happy with the council's decision. I understood where he was coming from; his wife had just died and I was his only daughter, but I had a duty to fulfill. I was an Olympian, and I had to protect my campers, even if I had to protect the world in doing so.

Hestia gave me a soft smile. "Your father loves you. He does not want you to grow up."

My stare was hard as I replied, "I grew up the moment I stepped into this place."

Zeus cleared his throat. "Next, we need to vote in a leader for a group that is going to Camp Jupiter. Are there any suggestions?"

There was a silence throughout the room. Everyone's eyes were on Poseidon as he pushed himself up from his chair, standing tall and commanding everyone's attention on him. Although Poseidon was a fun, seemingly carefree man, he was just as powerful as my father, and demanded respect from the other Olympians. "I want to nominate my son, Perseus. He is a born leader, and one of the best fighters here. I believe that any other team members we assign this job to will listen to him as they listen to us. He _was_ going to be an Olympian after all, until this happened."

Zeus nodded in agreement, and so did the other Olympians. "Agreed. All in favor of Perseus Jackson as the leader of this team?"

Everyone raised their hands except for Athena, who was leaning against her chair in defiance. Zeus noticed that her hand was not up and questioned, "Athena? What is your objection to this?"

"I do believe that my daughter Annabeth is a much better fit for this situation. In this apocalypse, brute force and _no brains_ ," she glanced at Poseidon, to which he responded with a poisonous glare, "will not get you anywhere. You need strategy, just what my daughter has. She is a very capable fighter as well."

"While I hate that Johnson boy," Dionysus drawled, "Honestly, I do, I hate him less than Annabelle. That girl has a big head. She thinks she can't do anything wrong, and that kind of thinking is dangerous in our situation." Athena trained her gray eyes on him, and she cocked her head to the side, as if daring him to speak further of her daughter. Dionysus looked away, not quite wanting to awaken her wrath.

"That kind of confidence is essential in the battlefield, Dionysus. If the soldiers see you as indecisive they will not follow you as a leader." Athena looked as if she had won the entire argument.

"While that is true," Hestia spoke again, and everyone was shocked that she was speaking twice in one meeting, "you must have the humility to double check your plans, and build from others' ideas. Someone who believes their ideas are the best and only theirs, is not likely to work in a group very well. I highly recommend that Perseus Jackson take the position as leader."

Zeus nodded once, then his voice was booming in the entire room, "All in favor of Perseus Jackson as the leader of this team?"

This time, everyone raised their hands.

File 2

"Percy, where are you taking me?" I asked as we were stumbling through the woods. It was nighttime, and we had just finished a Capture the Flag game. Percy had approached me and asked me if I wanted see something cool. Of course I didn't say no.

"Here we are," Percy said, and I smiled widely. It was so pretty out by the creek during the full moon. The entire body of water seemed to be lit by the eerie moonlight. The trees swayed softly, disturbed by the wind. I sat down at the bank of the river and Percy was next to me. "I've been meaning to ask you how the Council meeting went."

I wrapped my arms around my knees. "It went fine. I am going to lead a group around the country…to search for survivors." I turned to look at him. "You, on the other hand, are leading a team to Camp Jupiter to start a new alliance. They're a camp just like us and—"

"Why am I leading them?" Percy asked, looking down at me. His green eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight.

"Because you were meant to be the leader," I said simply. His hair fell into his eyes and I fought back the urge to brush it away.

"I can't be a leader, Artemis. I just don't think I'm cut out to do that kind of stuff," Percy said, and he moved his gaze from me down to the water.

"And why not?" I said softly. "Why can't you be the leader?"

Percy shook his head. "I just…can't." He was frowning.

"We chose the team members that will be going with you," my hands dug into the grass as I looked up at the star-filled sky, "Annabeth Chase, Leo Valdez, and Piper Mclean."

"Are we walking there?" Percy asked. "That would take us about three to four months, you know."

"You'll be given a car," I said, and I laid down on the grass. A few moments later Percy was lying next to me. "Not much use though, when I was out there all of the cars were stopped in the middle of the road-it was nearly impossible to get anywhere with a car."

"When are we leaving?" His voice was so light, it was like a soft breath of air. I turned my head to the side and smiled weakly.

"The day after tomorrow."

Percy nodded, and we were facing each other. I memorized his every feature; he was so handsome. My hand wanted to trace his strong jawline, and sharp cheekbones. I was so close to him I could smell his scent; he smelled of the sea and there was a slight trace of cologne on him. "Percy," I said, and he nodded to show he was listening, "I'm…I'm afraid," I looked away, I didn't want to look at him, or anywhere for that matter. I was the great Artemis, I feared _nothing_. "I'm afraid that I'll go out there, and everyone will die. And then…I'll _die_. What's it like to be dead? To have no feeling whatsoever? You can't _think_ , you can't _feel_ —"

"You need to be strong," Percy said, and he lifted my chin up so we were eye to eye. "If you can't be, no one will be. I believe in you. Everyone does."

I bit my lip and I nodded. I felt tears coming to the surface, but I held them back. I needed to. No one had ever seen me so vulnerable, not since when I was younger and Apollo soothed me after my nightmares. I had let reality sink in, and I was afraid. For what felt like the first time in years I _felt_ something urgent. The feeling, no, _need_ to survive. I couldn't die. I just couldn't.

"Artemis, you are strong. You are the bravest person I've ever met and—" he blushed, looking away, "—you're amazing. You're probably the only one in the world who can do this and—"

"I'm just one person," I said quietly, wrapping my arms around myself. I suddenly felt cold, very cold. "I'm not a god, Percy."

"But you can be," he said firmly, "I mean, you can save these people. You can _help_ people. You will save lives—"

I stopped him with a light kiss, and his body stiffened in shock. I pulled away, and he stared at me, his eyes still wide.

It was my turn for surprise when he pulled me close to him and pressed his lips against mine. I soon relaxed and melted into him as his hand lightly traced my waist, down my hips and to my thighs. His hands left a trail a fire, and I threaded my fingers through his hair, noting how soft his dark locks were. There was a strange burning sensation in my stomach that I'd never felt before. I wrapped my leg around his waist as his hands found the small of my back, pulling me closer. I gasped at the feeling of him so close, I could feel every hard ridge and plane of his body against mine. His body was warm, and I didn't feel the cold with him so close. He kissed me again, this time with more urgency, his tongue teasing my lips apart. I moaned and my hands traced down the curve of his sharp jaw, his neck, and down his broad shoulders to his back.

His lips wandered to my jaw, and down my neck as I continued to explore the angles and ridges of his body. He kissed my collarbone softly and pulled away, his green eyes so beautiful in the moonlight. Our labored breaths were the only sound in the silent night.

"Why do you have so much faith in me?" I asked after many moments of silence. "Why do you say I am amazing and I—"

Percy gave me a wide, boyish grin. "Because you are."

 **That's a wrap on the fourth chapter of Breakout! I'm back guys, and I feel terrible I have not been active like I used to be. I used to post tons of updates, now they're nearly four months apart on average! But don't worry, I am back, and I will definitely be posting more often. Thank you all for supporting me still, and reading and reviewing. I appreciate it all; I couldn't ask for better readers! :)**

 **Signing out,**

 **Lucky**


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